Near-field spectroscopy and tuning of sub-surface modes in plasmonic terahertz resonators.

Highly confined modes in THz plasmonic resonators comprising two metallic elements can enhance light-matter interaction for efficient THz optoelectronic devices. We demonstrate that sub-surface modes in such double-metal resonators can be revealed with an aperture-type near-field probe and THz time-domain spectroscopy despite strong mode confinement in the dielectric spacer. The sub-surface modes couple a fraction of their energy to the resonator surface via surface waves, which we detected with the near-field probe. We investigated two resonator geometries: a λ/2 double-metal patch antenna with a 2 µm thick dielectric spacer, and a three-dimensional meta-atom resonator. THz time-domain spectroscopy analysis of the fields at the resonator surface displays spectral signatures of sub-surface modes. Investigations of strong light-matter coupling in resonators with sub-surface modes therefore can be assisted by the aperture-type THz near-field probes. Furthermore, near-field interaction of the probe with the resonator enables tuning of the resonance frequency for the spacer mode in the antenna geometry from 1.6 to 1.9 THz (~15%).

THz surface plasmon modes on planar Goubau lines.

The dispersion relation and confinement of terahertz surface plasmon modes propagating along planar Goubau lines are studied using guided-wave time domain spectroscopy. We demonstrate the radial nature of the surface plasmon mode known as the Goubau mode and the transverse confinement of the electric field over a few tenths of microns (~l/10). We experimentally and computationally observed a transition of the shape of the THz pulses from unipolar to bipolar as the propagation distance increases, indicating that the Goubau line acts as a high-pass filter. The deviation of the dispersion relation curve from a linear law above 600 GHz is discussed.

Subwavelength metallic waveguides as a tool for extreme confinement of THz surface waves.

Research on surface waves supported by metals at THz frequencies is experiencing a tremendous growth due to their potential for imaging, biological sensing and high-speed electronic circuits. Harnessing their properties is, however, challenging because these waves are typically poorly confined and weakly bound to the metal surface. Many design strategies have been introduced to overcome these limitations and achieve increased modal confinement, including patterned surfaces, coated waveguides and a variety of sub-wavelength geometries. Here we provide evidence, using a combination of numerical simulations and time-resolved experiments, that shrinking the transverse size of a generic metallic structure always leads to solutions with extreme field confinement. The existence of such a general behavior offers a new perspective on energy confinement and should benefit future developments in THz science and technology.